Use of position data to determine a group monitor

ABSTRACT

A method for selecting a lighting control group monitor does not require special device network configuration steps during manufacturing. The selected lighting control group monitor is determined based on a location of the lighting control group monitor relative to other lighting system elements within the lighting control group. One lighting system element most centrally located within the lighting control group is selected as the lighting control group monitor. A lighting control group network table listing an entry for each of the lighting system elements is modified such that the entry corresponding to the lighting control group monitor is the first entry in the lighting control group network table. The lighting control group network table is sent to the lighting control group monitor and the lighting control group monitor sends the lighting control group network table to the other lighting system elements in the lighting control group.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/215,831, filed Jul. 21, 2016, the entire contents of which areexpressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Conventional wall switches and light fixtures communicate over wiredsystems. More recent lighting systems use wireless communications;however, configuring luminaires to operate over wireless communicationsystems often requires special device network configuration steps duringmanufacturing.

In addition, wireless communications have limitations related todistance and performance. In a lighting system with a group monitorresponsible for controlling operations of the lighting system, suchgroup monitor needs reliable wireless communications with other elementsof the lighting system. However, traditional approaches to selecting thegroup monitor often require manual intervention and prior knowledgeregarding positions of elements within the lighting system.

Accordingly, a system is needed to overcome these and other limitationsin the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawing figures depict one or more implementations in accord withthe present teachings, by way of example only, not by way of limitation.In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similarelements.

FIG. 1A is a high-level functional block diagram of an example of asystem of networks and devices that support lightcommissioning/maintenance and provide a variety of lighting control,including communications in support of turning lights on/off, dimming,set scene, and sensor trip events.

FIG. 1B is another high-level functional block diagram of an example ofa system of networks and devices that further includes plug loadcontroller and power pack devices and various lighting control groups.

FIGS. 1C-1D are high-level functional block diagrams of examples ofportions of a system, similar to one of the systems of FIGS. 1A-B, withelements deployed in a linear fashion.

FIG. 2A is a high-level flow chart of an example of a beginning portionof a commissioning protocol procedure for the lighting control system ofFIG. 1A or FIG. 1B.

FIG. 2B is a high-level flow chart of an example of an ending portion ofthe commissioning protocol procedure for the lighting control system ofFIG. 1A or 1B.

FIG. 2C is a high-level flow chart of an example of an alternativeending portion of the commissioning protocol procedure for the lightingcontrol system of FIG. 1A or 1B.

FIGS. 3A-C are block diagrams of examples of luminaires that communicatevia the lighting control system of FIG. 1A or 1B.

FIGS. 4A-C are block diagrams of examples of wall switches thatcommunicate via the lighting control system of FIG. 1A or 1B.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a plug load controller that communicatesvia the lighting control system of FIG. 1B.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a power pack that communicates via thelighting control system of FIG. 1B.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart presenting the states and transitions for thevarious lighting system elements in the system examples of FIGS. 1A-B.

FIG. 8 is a high-level functional block diagram of a mobile device forcommissioning and maintenance of the lighting control system of FIG. 1Aor 1B.

FIG. 9A is a wireless advertising packet format for commissioning alighting system element on a lighting control network via acommissioning network.

FIG. 9B is an exploded view of an advertising channel protocol data unitof the advertising packet of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 9C is an exploded view of a header of the advertising channelprotocol data unit of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 9D is an exploded view of a payload of the advertising channelprotocol data unit of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 9E is an exploded view of an advertising index of the payload ofFIG. 9D

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present teachings may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components,and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, withoutdetail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the presentteachings.

Reference now is made in detail to the examples illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and discussed below.

FIGS. 1A-B both illustrate functional block diagrams of an example of asystem of networks and devices that support lightcommissioning/maintenance and provide a variety of lighting control,including communications in support of turning lights on/off, dimming,set scene, and sensor trip events. FIG. 1B is the same as FIG. 1A, but1B further includes additional lighting control devices (LCDs): a plugload controller 30 and a power pack 35; and illustrates exemplarylighting control groups. FIGS. 1C-D also depict lighting elements asmight be found in the system of FIGS. 1A-B, however, such devices aredeployed in a linear fashion or otherwise distributed throughout a largearea. For example, the lighting elements of FIGS. 1C-D may representstreet lamps located along a roadway or positioned in a parking area;light fixtures located along a hallway; or light fixtures and/or otherlighting elements distributed throughout a relatively large open space(e.g., an auditorium, large warehouse facility, wide open retaillocation, etc.).

The lighting control system 1 may be designed for indoor commercialspaces. Alternatively, lighting control system 1 may be designed forusage in an outdoor space. As shown, system 1 includes a variety oflighting system elements, such as a set of luminaires 10A-N (lightingfixtures) and a set of wall switches 20A-N. Daylight, occupancy, andaudio sensors are embedded in lighting system elements, in this caseluminaires 10A-N to enable controls for occupancy and dimming.

Luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, plug load controller 30, andpower pack 35 communicate control over a 900 MHz (sub-GHz) wirelesscontrol network 5 and accordingly each include a first radio in thesub-GHz range. A variety of controls are transmitted over wirelesscontrol network 5, including, for example, turn lights on/off, dimup/down, set scene (e.g., a predetermined light setting), and sensortrip events. Each luminaire 10A-N, wall switch 20A-N, plug loadcontroller 30, and power pack 35, is also equipped with a second nearrange Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio that communicates overcommissioning network 7 for purposes of commissioning and maintenance ofthe wireless lighting control system 1, however no controls pass overthis commissioning network 7.

Plug load controller 30 plugs into existing AC wall outlets, forexample, and allows existing wired lighting devices, such as table lampsor floor lamps that plug into a wall outlet, to operate in the lightingcontrol system 1. The plug load controller 30 instantiates the tablelamp or floor lamp by allowing for commissioning and maintenanceoperations and processes wireless lighting controls in order to theallow the lighting device to operate in the lighting control system 1.

Power pack 35 retrofits with existing wired light fixtures (luminaires).The power pack 35 instantiates the wired light fixture by allowing forcommissioning and maintenance operations and processes wireless lightingcontrols in order to allow the lighting device to operate in thelighting control system 1.

Both plug load controller 30 and power pack 35 can include the samecircuitry, hardware, and software as light fixtures 10A-N and wallswitches 20A-N.

The system 1 is provisioned with a mobile device 25 that includes acommissioning/maintenance application 22 for commissioning andmaintenance functions of the lighting control system 1. For example,mobile device 25 enables mobile commissioning, configuration, andmaintenance functions and can be a PDA or smartphone type of device withhuman interfacing mechanisms sufficient to perform clear and uncluttereduser directed operations. Mobile device 25 runs mobile type applicationson iOS7, Android KitKat, and windows 10 operating systems andcommissioning/maintenance application 22 to support commissioning.

Web enabled (cloud) services for facilitating commissioning andmaintenance activities is also provided by mobile device 25. Thecommissioning/maintenance application 22 of mobile commissioning device25 interfaces with the cloud services to acquire installation andconfiguration information for upload to luminaires 10A-N, wall switches20A-N, plug load controller 30, and power pack 35. The installation andconfiguration information is received by mobile device 25 from thegateway 55. The gateway 50 engages in communication through the widearea network (WAN) 55.

A gateway 50 and backhaul connection capability may also be provided.

Lighting control system 1 can leverage existing sensor and fixturecontrol capabilities of Acuity Brands Lighting's commercially availablenLight® wired product through firmware reuse. In general, Acuity BrandsLighting's nLight® wired product provides the lighting controlapplications. However, the illustrated lighting control system 1includes a communications backbone and includes model—transport,network, media access control (MAC)/physical layer (PHY) functions. Thesub-GHz communications of the wireless control network 5 features arebuilt on a near 802.15.4 MAC and PHY implantation with network andtransport features architected for special purpose control and air timeoptimizations to limit chatter.

The lighting control system 1 can be deployed in standalone orintegrated environments. System 1 can be an integrated deployment, or adeployment of standalone groups with no gateway 50. One or more groupsof lighting control system 1 may operate independently of one anotherwith no backhaul connections to other networks.

Lighting control system 1 may comprise a mix and match of various indoorsystems, wired lighting systems (nLight® wired), emergency, and outdoor(dark to light) products that are networked together to form acollaborative and unified lighting solution. Additional control devicesand lighting fixtures, gateway(s) 50 for backhaul connection, time synccontrol, data collection and management capabilities, and interoperationwith the Acuity Brands Lighting's commercially available SensorViewproduct may also be provided.

As shown in FIG. 1B, control, configuration, and maintenance operationsof the lighting control system 1 involve networked collaboration betweenthe luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, plug load controller(s) 30,and power pack(s) 35 that comprise a lighting control group. Aninstallation is comprised of one or more lighting control groups eachoperating independently of one another. One or more lighting controlgroups may exist in the wireless control network 5. Each lightingcontrol group will have a group monitor, and this is shown in FIG. 1Bwhere there a two groups and each group has a monitor.

Groups are formed during commissioning of the lighting control system 1where all members of the group are connected together over wirelesscontrol network 5, which in our example is a sub-GHz subnetwork definedby an RF channel and a lighting control group identifier.

The lighting system elements subscribe to channels and only listenfor/react to messages on the RF channel with the identifier (ID) of thesubscribed channel that designates the lighting control group that thelighting system element is a member of.

In general, groups do not share RF channels and thus form their own RFsubnetwork, however with only 10 available channels some overlap isinevitable. Analysis and simulation have indicated that groupdistribution and spatial separation will mitigate the congestion andcollision side effects that can occur when many lighting system elements10A-N, 20A-N, 30, 35 share a singular RF enclave.

A group can be further divided to address control to specific controlzones within the group defined by a control zone identifier. Zonecommunications are managed as addressable features at run time. Up to 16independent zones of control are available for each group and each groupcan support up to 128 addressable elements (luminaires 10A-N, wallswitches 20A-N, plug load controller 30, power pack 35).

The wireless control network 5 distributes control messages and events,network management messages and events, health and failover events, andgroup commissioning and maintenance communications, such as firmwareupdate distributions and group membership changes.

Wireless control network 5 provides a secure control network (Sub-GHz)on which to operate. Devices are manually added to the wireless controlnetwork 5 via the commissioning process via commissioning/maintenanceapplication 22 of mobile device 25. The commissioning process includesauthorization and authentication features that allow only trusted andknown entities to add confirmed devices 10A-N, 20A-N, 30, 35 to thenetwork. Requirements relating to network modification (deviceadd/delete/modify) are allocated to the mobile device 25 and itsinterface (commissioning/maintenance application 22) to the lightingcontrol system 1.

Message authentication in the lighting control system 1 is provided bythe 802.15.4 compliant MAC layer solution commercially available fromSilicon Labs. The solution uses the AES CCM block cypher mode ofoperation to secure over the air frames. The mode of operation providesNIST compliant authentication, encryption, and integrity assurance todefeat replay attacks as well as device and message spoofing.

Lighting control system 1 also implements an additional layer ofauthentication by performing checks on the message source and addressingmechanisms to reject messages from unknown sources (i.e. sources thatare not authorized members of a lighting control group network). Anintrusion detection scheme using the above schemes and that reports suchevents will be made via the gateway 50.

The sub-GHz MAC/PHY (wireless control network 5) thus provides securecommunication features (authentication, data integrity, and encryptionassurance) based on the 802.15.4 standard.

The lighting system elements over the wireless control network 5together may engage in any-to-many communication and can implement anon-mesh wireless network topology. In our example, wireless controlnetwork 5 is a star topology network. Although other network schemes maybe utilized, a star topology may be the best fit for aligning therequired control communications features with the characteristics ofsub-GHz wireless radio. At the center of each lighting control group ina star topology wireless control network 5 is a singular group monitoras shown in FIG. 1B. In FIG. 1B, luminaire 10A is the group monitor forlighting control group 1 and luminaire 10B is the group monitor forlighting control group 2. Lighting control group 1 further comprisesluminaire 10N, wall switch 20A, and plug load controller 30. Lightingcontrol group 2 further comprises wall switch 20B and power pack 35.

The monitor is responsible for receiving control events from theirsource (luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, plug load controller 30,and power pack 35) and ensuring reliable and timely delivery of theevent to the other members of the group. The monitor uses a quick besteffort multicast mechanism for fast high-probability delivery. Themonitor follows up the multicast with a reliable point to pointcommunication to ensure that all destination devices received andacknowledge the event.

Given the nature of wireless communication, particularly related tosub-GHz wireless radio, selection of the group monitor may be asignificant factor. It may be easiest to appreciate the issue and anappropriate selection procedure with respect to a linear deploymentexample, although the selection procedure offers similar advantages inother network topologies. When lighting system elements belonging to alighting control group are deployed in a linear fashion, such asdepicted in FIGS. 1C-D, selection of the group monitor may best beperformed based on a location of the various group members. In FIG. 1C,luminaire 10A is selected as the group monitor. However, as can be seen,wireless communication with other group members, particularly thoselocated furthest away from luminaire 10A, may be negatively impacted.More specifically, transmission power is a significant issue in wirelesscommunication. If transmission power is insufficient to send from end toend (e.g., too long a distance or transmission power is lowered toconserve energy or to reduce interference), the system can still operateeffectively if all devices have enough power to communicate with a groupmonitor/controller near the middle of the line. In contrast, when acentrally located group member is selected as the group monitor, such asluminaire 10C in FIG. 1D, wireless communication between the groupmonitor and other group members is optimized. Therefore, as described ingreater detail below, a commissioning process may include selecting agroup monitor based on a location of group members.

Commissioning

Commissioning is the process that sets the lighting controlconfiguration and settings that drive the behavior of the lightingcontrol system 1 and the various elements of that system. One or moremobile devices 25 can be used to commission the installation of lightingcontrol system 1. During setup, commissioning/maintenance application 22of the mobile device 25 provides a secure method for a system installerto configure the lighting system elements for installationcommissioning. The lighting system elements include luminaires 10A-N,wall switches 20A-N, plug load controller 30, and power pack 35.

General behavioral settings and network addressing information arestored on the mobile device 25 for upload and allocation to theinstallation's lighting system elements via commissioning/maintenanceapplication 22. The installation information is managed bycommissioning/maintenance application 22 of mobile device 25 to ensurecorrectness and to eliminate common errors such as assignment ofduplicate network addresses. Communication between the mobile device 25for commissioning/maintenance and the lighting system elements is overthe commissioning network 7, such as a BLE network. The lighting systemelements are initially in an installation state, beaconing theiradvertisements when the commissioning starts.

Upon connection with the mobile device 25, the commissioning/maintenanceapplication 22 of mobile device 25 transitions the lighting systemelements to a commissioning state. Further upon connection, the lightingsystem element authenticates the mobile device 25 and is ready to acceptcommands over the commissioning network 7. The wall switches 20A-Nsuppress sleep mode until completion of the commissioning process andtransition to operational mode. Wall switches 20A-N will re-enter sleepmode if the commissioning process is interrupted—two elapsed hours withno activity.

An installation is commissioned according to lighting control groups. Agroup is a collection of LCDs sharing the same space within aninstallation (e.g. a room or area). Each lighting control group in theinstallation has a special lighting system element called the groupmonitor. The group monitor keeps tabs on the overall state and health ofthe lighting system elements within the group and assists in thecommunication of lighting control events between group elements. Ingeneral, one can visualize the group network topology as a star with thegroup monitor as the central node and the remainder of the group'slighting system elements at points of the star.

A group is commissioned by first establishing the group's lightingcontrol network 5 and then configuring the group's control behavior. Thelighting control network 5 is established over a 802.15.4 based MACriding on top of a sub-GHz (904 MHz to 926 MHz) PHY. The commissioningnetwork 7, such as a Bluetooth Low Energy MAC/PHY, is used as the pointto point connection medium to transfer control network configurationfrom the commissioning/maintenance application 22 of the mobile device25 to a lighting system element The commissioning/maintenanceapplication 22 of mobile device 25 builds a network table of the groupdevices while establishing the lighting control network 5. The networktable, used by the group monitor in the execution of itsresponsibilities, is uploaded from the mobile device 25 to the group'slighting system elements via commissioning/maintenance application 22.

Each lighting system element also has a behavioral configuration. Theconfiguration is specified by a group of settings that define controlcharacteristics such as sensor set points, delays, modes, and ranges.The control characteristics also specify independent zones of controlwithin the group. These characteristics and settings are customized asnecessary and uploaded from the mobile device 25 to each lighting systemelement via commissioning/maintenance application 22.

During the commissioning process, line powered lighting system elementsare installed, powered, and advertising over BLE. Battery poweredlighting system elements, such as wall switches 20A-N, are installed andin sleep mode to conserve power. After the mobile device 25 is setup, aninstaller opens the commissioning/maintenance application 22 on themobile device 25 and walks into an area of the installation that isready to commission as a lighting control group.

Configuring a Group Network

Wall switches 20A-N and luminaires 10A-N are under the command of themobile device 25 and respond to a sequence of commands to configure agroup network. The wall switches 20A-N respond to a blink request byrapidly blinking an LED. The LED pilot light brightness level is set toa maximum. The luminaires 10A-N responds to a blink request by rapidlyblinking an LED light pack. At any time, the lighting system element,including luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, plug load controller30, plug pack 35, etc., ceases blinking upon command. The device thenaccepts the sub-GHz short MAC address, group number, group name, groupRF channel, and personal area network (PAN) ID from the mobile device25. The device persists this information in non-volatile memory (NVM).The device ceases blinking.

The lighting system element accepts the settings from thecommissioning/maintenance application 22 of mobile device 25 andpersists the settings in non-volatile memory. Additionally, lightingsystem elements that are luminaires 10A-N also receive settings for anon-board controller (MCU) and on-board integrated sensors. The lightingsystem element may also receive a request to execute an RF spectrum scanto determine the group RF channel. If so, the lighting system elementexecutes the scan and returns the results to the mobile device 25 fordistribution to the other group devices.

The above sequence of commands issued from the commissioning/maintenanceapplication 22 of mobile device 25 are expected to be in order. Commandsreceived out of order are consider to be an intrusion attempt. Thelighting system element configures its media access control (MAC) layerdevice circuitry and its physical layer circuitry for the OSI model(PHY) with the data transferred from the mobile device 25 and remains incommissioning state.

Connecting a Group Network

To connect to the group network, the lighting system elements accept thegroup address table from the mobile device 25. The group address tableidentifies all of the lighting system elements in the group. The devicepersists this information in non-volatile memory. The device uses thelighting control network 5 (e.g., sub-GHz network) to pass the groupaddress table to the other lighting system elements, such as luminaires10A-N and wall switches 20A-N, in the group. The communication over thelighting control network 5 is reliable-unicast and may involve somemessage segmenting if the table size exceeds transport protocol dataunit (PDU) size.

The lighting system element returns a status to the mobile device 25indicating success or failures encountered while distributing the table.The lighting system element accepts a command to tune the group RFtransmission (TX) power levels and executes the tune according to thediscussion below.

The commissioning/maintenance application 22 of mobile device 25disconnects after issuing the command to tune the group RF TX powerlevels. The above sequence of commands issued from the mobile device 25are expected to be in order. As noted previously, commands received outof order are consider to be an intrusion attempt. Upon completion, thelighting system elements in the group transition to an operationalstate.

Radio Frequency Channel Selection

The group RF channel is determined at commissioning time by a linepowered lighting fixture, such as luminaires 10A-N. Thecommissioning/maintenance application 22 of mobile device 25 requeststhe A spectrum scan of the available channels (10) seeking the channelwith the lowest average noise level measured over a short period oftime.

The process is as follows. Mobile device 25 is connected to a luminaire10A-N via the commission network 7 (e.g., BLE). The mobile device 25requests a spectrum scan indicating the number of samples/per channel tobe produced. The luminaire 10A-N executes a passive scan of thefollowing channels (channel number, center frequency):

904 MHz

906 MHz

908 MHz

910 MHz

912 MHz

914 MHz

916 MHz

918 MHz

920 MHz

922 MHz

924 MHz

926 MHz

The luminaire 10A-N returns the average energy and peak energy detectedfor each channel. The commissioning/maintenance application 22 of mobiledevice 25 determines the optimum RF channel from the average and peakenergy samples giving preference (via a weighting factor) to channels5-8. The commissioning/maintenance application 22 of mobile device 25commands the lighting system element to configure its MAC/PHY to use theoptimum RF channel.

A modified method that replaces the above method with one that uses adiscovery and link quality measurement to join the optimum gatewaysubnetwork may also be used. Whatever the method (gateway 50 ornon-gateway), the RF channel selection scheme is timely to meet the userexperience requirements for commissioning. Alternatively, this proceduremay be decoupled from mobile device 25 so that channel selection canalso execute independently by lighting system elements, such asluminaires 10A-N and wall switches 20A-N.

Transmission Power Adjustment

Sub-GHz RF TX power levels may be managed to optimize intra-groupcommunications in a way that limits adverse effects (collisions,retries, corrupt packets, etc.) on adjacent group subnetworks thathappen to be sharing the RF channel. The group monitor executes a linktest with each lighting system element in the group as follows. Thegroup monitor sends a link test message to the lighting system element.The device returns a link test response to the group monitor indicatingthe received strength signal indicator (RSSI-1) of the received messagein 1. The group monitor receives the response and notes the RSSI of thereceived message (RSSI-2). If RSSI-1 is less than the minimum RSSI-1srecorded so far, it records the new minimum RSSI.

The group monitor returns a link test response acknowledgment to thedevice indicating RSSI-2. The device receives the acknowledgement. Thedevice adjusts it RF TX power appropriately if the RSSI-2 does not fallwithin the desired range. The device returns a link test status(continue) to the group monitor. The device returns a link test status(complete) if the RSSI-2 is within the desired range. The group monitorreceives the link test status. The process repeats if the statusindicates continue (is within the desired range). Steps 1 through 6 arerepeated until all devices in the group have been tested. Thetransmission (TX) power adjustment can also be invoked for a singlegroup monitor—device link. In this case, all devices in the group do notneed to be tested.

Lighting System Element Health

The group monitor periodically checks the health of each lighting systemelement, such as luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, plug loadcontroller 30, and power pack 35, in the group. The group monitor runs around robin check of each group device such that every device receives arequest to report health once every hour. In an example, given a groupwith a maximum number of devices (128), the group monitor will issue arequest for health status every ˜28.125 seconds while a group of sixwill result in a health request every 10 minutes.

Clock drift and frequency of over the air messaging are not expected tocause undesirable side effects or performance hits to the network 5,however health requests are delayed via a back off timer of 10 secondsduring bursts of network traffic to allow potential congestions to clearand make way for higher priority control operations.

The group monitor records faults reported by lighting system elementsfor later retrieval by commissioning/maintenance application 22 ofmobile device 25 for commissioning and maintenance.

Communication Failures

Wireless messaging failures are possible and expected, howevercontinuous failures indicate a problem that might be rectified byadjusting the RF properties of the communications link of lightingsystem elements, such as luminaires 10A-N and wall switches 20A-N.Continuous failures may result if there is a change to the environmentthat alters RF performance or in cases where a lighting system elementis experiencing internal failures.

Attempts to resolve communications failures are managed by the groupmonitor rather than separately at each lighting system element.Reliable-unicast messaging acknowledgement is the driver for detectingcommunications failures.

At lighting system elements, a communication failure occurs when thedevice transmits a reliable-unicast message and fails to receive anacknowledgement within a retry period. Upon detecting such a failure,the lighting system element increments its counters of total failuresand attempts. The lighting system element reports the percentage offailures in response to a request for health status from the groupmonitor. The lighting system element resets its counters aftersuccessful report of health status.

At a group monitor, the group monitor associates a four bit counter witheach lighting system element in the group for purposes of trackingcommunication failures. A failure occurs when the group monitor receivesno acknowledgement back after transmitting a reliable-unicast message toa group device. The group monitor will increment the counter for thatlighting system element whenever a failure occurs. The counter is resetwhenever a successful transmission occurs.

If the counter reaches a value of 0x7 for any lighting system element,the group monitor attempts to correct the consistent communicationfailure by issuing a command to the lighting system element toincrementally increase its RF TX power level.

If the counter reaches a value of 0xE for any lighting system element,the group monitor initiates an RF TX Power adjustment for the link.Counters that reach a max of 0xF remain there and may indicate a deadlighting system element. Power level adjustment trigger may be changedto act on percentage of failures (similar to the device health methodbelow) rather than consecutive failure conditions.

The group monitor 10A issues a command to the lighting system element toincrementally increase its RF TX power level if the device's statusindicates transmission failures at or greater than 15%. The groupmonitor initiates an RF TX Power adjustment for any communications linkwhere the lighting system element's status indicates transmissionfailures at or greater than 25%.

FIGS. 2A-C depict a commissioning protocol procedure for any of thelighting control systems of FIGS. 1A-B. It should be noted that a laterportion of the procedure may be performed either by mobile device 25 orby a lighting system element, such as one of luminaires 10A-N. As such,FIG. 2A depicts the common portion of the procedure while FIG. 2Bdepicts the later portion as performed by mobile device 25 and FIG. 2Cdepicts the later portion as performed by a lighting system element. Ofnote, although the procedure includes selecting, either by mobile device24 (i.e., FIG. 2B) or by a lighting system element (i.e., FIG. 2C), alighting control group monitor while mobile device 25 has an establishedcommissioning network connection, this is only for simplicity.Alternatively, lighting control group monitor selection may occurwithout an established commissioning network connection and, in the caseof selection performed by mobile device 25, a commissioning networkconnection may be re-established with any one of the lighting systemelements in order to enable storage of a lighting control group networktable in memory of the selected lighting control group monitor.

As shown in FIG. 2A, various lighting system elements (luminaires 10A-N,wall switches 20A-N, plug load controller 30, and power pack 35) gothrough a series of states and transitions, and engage in communicationswith mobile device 25 during commissioning of the lighting controlsystem. Although luminaire 10 is shown in this example, it should beunderstood that the commissioning protocol shown applies to all of theother lighting system elements, such as a wall switches 20A-N, plug loadcontroller 30, and power pack 35.

A precondition to the protocol procedure may be the following. Linepowered lighting system elements (e.g., luminaires 10A-N) are installed,powered, and advertising over the commissioning network. Thecommissioning network is a 2 gigahertz or higher radio band in ourexample. Battery powered lighting system elements (e.g., wall switches20A-N) are installed and in sleep mode to conserve power. An installerof the lighting control system sets up the mobile device 25, opens thecommissioning/maintenance application 22 on the mobile device 25, andwalks into an area of the installation that is ready to commission as alighting control group.

Beginning in block S200, programming in a memory of the luminaire 10,specifically lighting application 327, configures a processor of theluminaire 10 to transmit/send an advertisement packet via the wirelesscommissioning network communication band to a mobile device. Theadvertising packet transmitted via the commissioning network includes apreamble, an access address, a protocol data unit (PDU), and a cyclicredundancy check (CRC). The packet data unit (PDU) includes a header anda payload, and the payload includes an advertising address.

When the lighting system element is a battery powered lighting systemelement, such as a battery powered wall switch device or standalonesensor, the installer of the lighting control system may push a buttonon the device. In response to pushing of a button on the battery powereddevice, the wall switch or the like wakes up from a sleep mode and thentransmits the advertisement packet via the commissioning network to themobile device 25. After a predetermined time period, the battery powereddevice ceases to transmit advertising packets. After ceasing to transmitadvertising packets, the battery powered device enters back into a sleepmode.

Moving to block S205, the mobile device 25 receives, from each of aplurality of lighting system elements, an advertisement packet via thecommissioning network, including, for example, the advertising packetpreviously transmitted by luminaire 10. For example, the installer ofthe lighting control system selects the lighting system element (e.g.,wall switch or luminaire 10) that has sent an advertising packet andrequests a curtsy (2 on/off light toggle events). The installer electsto add the lighting system element to the lighting control group(instead of skipping the lighting system element).

Hence, in block S210, the mobile device 25 establishes a commissioningnetwork connection with each of the lighting system elements via thecommissioning network. Connection encryption is managed by thecommissioning network link layer (e.g., Bluetooth). The luminaire 10,for example, authenticates the mobile device 25 and closes theconnection if authentication fails.

Establishing the commissioning network connection with each of thelighting system elements can include generating a short media accesscontrol (MAC) address that is less than 6 bytes for each of the lightingsystem elements to communicate over the lighting control network.Network configuration information is then sent by the mobile device 25,which includes the short MAC address, to each of the lighting systemelements, via the commissioning network. For example, the short MACaddress can be 16 bits instead of a conventional 48 bit MAC address. Thenetwork configuration information can further include a lighting controlgroup identifier (e.g., for a lighting control group monitor tomulticast to the lighting control group), a radio frequency (RF)channel, a personal area network (PAN) identifier (e.g., to identify alighting control zone or lighting control group), and a transmission(Tx) power level. As explained earlier, the lighting control network isa sub-gigahertz radio band.

When establishing the commissioning network connection with each of thelighting system elements, the mobile device 25 interrogates each of thelighting system elements for manufacturing information, sets a lightingsystem element name for each of the lighting system elements, saves thelighting system element name and the interrogated manufacturinginformation, and then positions each of the lighting system elements onan installation floor plan screen of the commissioning/maintenanceapplication 22 of the mobile device 25. The installer can further refinethe position of the lighting system element on the installation floorplan screen of commissioning/maintenance application 22.

Continuing now to block S215, during or after the commissioning networkconnection is established between the mobile device 25 and luminaire 10,the mobile device 25 checks if the luminaire 10 is the first lightingsystem element to be commissioned in the lighting control group. If theluminaire 10 is the first lighting system element to be commissioned inthe lighting control group, mobile device 25 initiates radio frequency(RF) channel discovery. In step S220, mobile device 25 sends an RFchannel discovery command to luminaire 10, which is the first lightingsystem element configured by the mobile device 25 of the group'slighting system elements via the commissioning network.

Moving now to block S225, during or after establishing the commissioningnetwork connection with the mobile device via the commissioning network,luminaire 10 receives the command for RF channel discovery from themobile device 25 to determine a radio frequency (RF) channel for thelighting control group. As the first lighting system element of thegroup to be configured, the luminaire 10 detects/determines the RFchannel for the lighting control network and the RF channel is returnedto the mobile device 25. For example, after initiation by command fromthe mobile device 25, luminaire 10 responds by scanning each availableRF channel (1-12), measuring energy (noise) on each channel, andselecting the available channel with lowest detected/measured energy(noise) level. Of note, to conserve battery power, the mobile device 25may never command a battery powered device, such as a wall switch, todetermine the group RF channel.

In response to sending the RF channel discovery command to the firstlighting system element (e.g., luminaire 10), mobile device 25 receivesan assigned RF channel for the lighting control group from luminaire 10in return. Of note, if the first lighting system element has alreadydetermined the RF channel for the lighting control group, then thatgroup RF channel is sent with the network configuration information whensubsequent lighting system elements join the group, for example, when acommissioning network connection is established with mobile device 25(block S210). Hence, mobile device 25 transmits the assigned RF channelto a remainder of the lighting system elements as part of the networkconfiguration information.

In block S228, mobile device 25 optionally derives a location forluminaire 10. For example, a global positioning system GPS location(e.g., latitude and longitude coordinates) of mobile device 25 isdetermined and associated with luminaire 10. Alternatively, the locationmay be derived relative to the luminaire's position within theinstallation floor plan (e.g., an x, y coordinate). Once the locationfor luminaire 10 is derived, the derived location is, for example,included in a entry corresponding to luminaire 10 within a lightingcontrol group network table, as described in greater detail below.

In block S230, the mobile device 25 builds a lighting control groupnetwork table listing an entry for each of the lighting system elementsto establish a lighting control group that communicates over a lightingcontrol network. The lighting control group network table is populatedwith an entry for each of the lighting system elements, for example, anentry is added to the table in the order that a lighting system elementis added to the group (e.g., configured by the mobile device 25). Eachlighting system element entry in the lighting control group networktable includes, for example, interrogated manufacturer informationtransmitted from the lighting system element (e.g., 16 bit or original48 bit MAC address(es)) and the previously set lighting system elementname. Each lighting system element entry in the lighting control groupnetwork table further includes, for example, network configurationinformation previously transmitted to the respective lighting systemelement (e.g., short MAC address, lighting control group identifier, RFchannel, PAN identifier, and Tx power level). To reduce the size of thetable and avoid duplication across entries, certain networkconfiguration information fields, such as RF channel, PAN identifier,and Tx power level, can be stored as attributes of the lighting controlgroup network table.

As mentioned earlier, the later portion of the commissioning procedureincludes steps that may be performed either by mobile device 25 or alighting system element. An installer, for example, may prefer thatmobile device 25 performs those steps and such preference may beindicated by the installer. Alternatively, or in addition, whether thosesteps are performed by mobile device 25 or a lighting system element maybe determined based on capabilities available in either mobile device 25or a lighting system element (e.g., if mobile device 25 is unable toperform those steps, a lighting system element may be relied upon). In afurther example, a default preference (e.g., performance by mobiledevice 25) may be established. FIG. 2B depicts the later portion of thecommissioning procedure with those steps performed by mobile device 25and FIG. 2C depicts the later portion of the commissioning procedurewith those steps performed by a lighting system element.

Turning to FIG. 2B and moving to block S235, the mobile device 25determines whether the last lighting system element has been configuredin the group and there are no additional lighting system elements to addto the group. If there are no more lighting system elements to add tothe lighting control group, then the mobile device 25 adjusts thelighting control group network table.

In block S236, mobile device 25 selects a lighting control group monitorand in block S238, mobile device 25 modifies the lighting control groupnetwork table to reflect the selected lighting control group monitor.For example, once the last lighting system element has been added to thelighting control group, mobile device 25 reorders the entry of the lastlighting system element configured by the mobile device via thecommissioning network such that entry of the last lighting systemelement is moved from a last entry to a first entry in the lightingcontrol group network table. Since the first entry of the lightingcontrol group network table is designated as the lighting control groupmonitor, this means the last device configured by or added by mobiledevice 25 to the lighting control group is the lighting control groupmonitor. In the event of failure of the lighting control group monitor,the device that is the second entry becomes the lighting control groupmonitor; in the event of failure of the second entry, then the lightingsystem element that is the third entry becomes the lighting controlgroup monitor; etc.

Of note, the above selection approach results in the last commissionedelement being selected as the group monitor, which may not be an optimalselection. Alternatively, mobile device 25 selects the lighting controlgroup monitor based on a location of each lighting control group member.For example, mobile device 25 utilizes a center of mass calculation todetermine which lighting control group member is most centrally locatedand the most centrally located group member is selected as the groupmonitor. Such selection is based, for example, on locations determinedfrom the locations derived in block S228. In a similar fashion, aninitial backup group monitor may also be selected based on the variouslocations. Once the group monitor is selected, an entry corresponding tothe selected group monitor is placed as the first entry in the lightingcontrol group network table as part of block S238. If a backup groupmonitor is also selected, an entry corresponding to the selected backupgroup monitor is placed as the second entry in the lighting controlgroup network table. In this way, the selected group monitor will beoptimally located within the lighting control group.

Proceeding now to block S240, the mobile device 25 sends/transmits(e.g., uploads) the lighting control group network table to the lightingcontrol group monitor of the lighting system elements in the group toestablish the lighting control group. In block S240, mobile device 25continues to maintain an established commissioning network connectionwith the last commissioned luminaire. As such, if the last commissionedluminaire is selected as the lighting control group monitor, mobiledevice 25 sends/transmits the lighting control group network tabledirectly to the lighting control group monitor via the establishedcommissioning network connection. Otherwise, mobile device 25sends/transmits the lighting control group network table indirectly tothe lighting control group monitor. That is, mobile device 25sends/transmits the lighting control group network table to the lastcommissioned luminaire via the established commissioning networkconnection and the last commissioned luminaire, in turn, sends/transmitsthe lighting control group network table to the lighting control groupmonitor via the lighting control network.

Continuing now to block S245, the lighting control group monitor, forexample, luminaire 10, receives the lighting control group network tablefrom mobile device 25 either directly via the commissioning networkcommunication band or indirectly via the lighting control networkcommunication band. The received lighting control group network tablelists an entry for each of the lighting system elements in the lightingcontrol group to establish the lighting control group that communicatesover the lighting control network. The lighting control group includes,for example, luminaire 10 as the first lighting system element. Inresponse to receiving the lighting control group network table listingthe entry for each of the lighting system elements to establish thelighting control group that communicates over the lighting controlnetwork communication band, luminaire 10 transmits the received lightingcontrol group network table to all remaining lighting system elements inthe lighting control group (e.g., a remainder) via the lighting controlnetwork communication band. Alternatively, if the lighting control groupmonitor receives the lighting control group network table indirectly viathe lighting control network communication band (e.g., the lightingcontrol group monitor is not the last commissioned luminaire), thelighting control group monitor may refrain from transmitting thereceived lighting control group network table and the last commissionedluminaire, having received the lighting control group network table frommobile device 25, may instead transmit the lighting control groupnetwork table to all remaining lighting system elements in the lightingcontrol group.

In block S250, after receiving the lighting control group network table,the commissioning network connection between the lighting system elementand the mobile device 25 is terminated. Either mobile device 25 or thelighting system element, such as luminaire 10, may issue a command toterminate the commissioning network connection.

Of note, in the example of FIG. 2B, selection of the lighting controlgroup monitor, creation of the lighting control group network table anddistribution of the lighting control group network table (i.e., blocksS236-S245) occur while the established commissioning network connectionis maintained between mobile device 25 and the last luminaire to becommissioned. In an alternate example, the established commissioningnetwork connection may first be terminated (i.e., block S250) and thenblocks S236-S245 may be performed. In this alternate example, acommissioning network connection would be re-established with any one ofthe lighting system elements as part of block S246.

The lighting system element then updates its commissioning network scanresponse information and returns to commissioning network (e.g.,Bluetooth) advertising mode. The lighting system element also powers upand configures its lighting control network transceiver (e.g., sub-GHzMAC/PHY). The installer repeats the process of FIG. 2 via thecommissioning/maintenance application 22 of mobile device 25 until alldevices in a lighting control group have been configured. The lightingcontrol group network table has an entry for each lighting systemelement in the group.

Subsequently (e.g., as a post-condition), the lighting system elementsof the lighting control group are capable of receiving communicationover the lighting control network (e.g., the sub-GHz network). Batterypowered lighting system elements, such as a wall switch, mayautomatically terminate/disconnect the commissioning network connectionwith the mobile device 25 after a predetermined time period. Suchbattery powered lighting system elements return to sleep mode afterdisconnecting/terminating the commissioning network connection andreceiving the lighting control group network table.

After termination of the commissioning network connection between thelighting system element and the mobile device 25 via the commissioningnetwork communication band, the lighting system element may continue totransmit advertisement packets via the commissioning network to themobile device 25. For example, line powered lighting system elementsreturn to advertising over the commissioning network (e.g., Bluetooth)and battery powered lighting system elements return to sleep mode toconserve power.

Finishing now in block S255, lighting control group behavior isdefined/set. Such behavior can be set after the lighting control groupnetwork table has been transmitted (e.g., uploaded) to the lightingcontrol group monitor. For example, lighting control group behavior isset after the lighting control group has been established.Alternatively, such behavior may be defined while the lighting controlgroup is being established.

The portion of the commissioning process depicted in FIG. 2B involvesselection of the lighting control group monitor by mobile device 25.Alternatively, lighting control group monitor selection may be performedby luminaire 10, as depicted in FIG. 2C. More specifically, blocks S242and S244 of FIG. 2C replace blocks S236 and S238 of FIG. 2B. In blockS242, luminaire 10 selects a lighting control group monitor and, inblock S244, luminaire 10 modifies the lighting control group networktable to reflect the group monitor selection. As with mobile device 25,luminaire 10 may utilize a center of mass calculation or otherwisedetermine a group member as being the most centrally located and selectthat centrally located group member as the group monitor.

The installer uses the commissioning/maintenance application 22 of themobile device 25 to define the lighting control group control behavior.The behavior is captured as specific element settings and as attributesof the lighting control group network table that define/configurelighting control group behavior. For example, a configuration isspecified by a group of settings or attributes that define controlcharacteristics, such as sensor set point(s), light time delay(s), modesof operation for the lights, and ranges (e.g., light brightness levels).The control characteristics also specify independent zones of controlwithin the lighting control group.

The commissioning/maintenance application 22 of the mobile device 25then reconnects with a line powered lighting system element (e.g.,luminaire 10) in the lighting control group via the commissioningnetwork. The installer transmits/sends the settings (e.g., the lightingcontrol group network table that includes group attributes) to the linepowered lighting system element.

The line powered lighting system element receives the settings from themobile device 25 and routes the settings to destination lighting systemelements via the lighting control network (e.g., sub-GHz network). Theline powered lighting system element stores the settings when received.The connection between mobile device 25 and the line powered lightingsystem element via the commissioning network terminates after the linepowered lighting system element receives the settings (e.g., a revisedlighting control group network table with the group attributes). Thelighting system element runs an integrity on the revised lightingcontrol group network table; and upon passing of the integrity check,saves the revised lighting control group network table. The line poweredlighting system element then resets or restarts the in order to operatein accordance with the revised lighting control group network table.

In an example, the first line powered lighting system element (e.g.,luminaire 10) that receives the lighting control group network tablewith the group attributes transmits/sends (e.g., forwards) the revisedlighting control group network table to the other line powered lightingsystem elements in the group. Each lighting system element saves thenetwork table, runs an integrity check, and resets/restarts to operatein accordance with the defined group behavior. Uponresetting/restarting, each lighting system element turns off itslighting control network (e.g., sub-GHz) radio, except for the groupmonitor (to avoid missing messages that are sent from the group).

Extensions to the above steps for battery powered elements (wallswitches) are as follows. The installer walks over to a battery poweredlighting system element in the installation and wakes up the device, forexample, by pushing a button. As a result, the mobile device 25 receivesan advertising packet from the battery powered lighting system elementand establishes a commissioning network connection with the device.Settings are pushed from the mobile device 25 to the battery poweredlighting system element as described above. For example, the lightingcontrol group network table with group attributes is pushed from themobile device 25 to the battery powered lighting system element. Themobile device 25 disconnects from the battery powered lighting systemelement. The battery powered lighting system element turns off itscommissioning network radio and returns to sleep mode. The installerrepeats these steps until all battery powered lighting system elementsin the group are configured with the lighting control group networktable with the group attributes. Subsequently (e.g., as apost-condition), the lighting control group is operational and operatesin accordance with the defined group behavior.

FIGS. 3A-C are block diagrams of a luminaire 10 that communicate via thelighting control system of FIGS. 1A-B. Luminaire 10 is an integratedlight fixture that generally includes a power supply 305 driven by apower source 300. Power supply 305 receives power from the power source300, such as an AC mains, battery, solar panel, or any other AC or DCsource. Power supply 305 may include a magnetic transformer, electronictransformer, switching converter, rectifier, or any other similar typeof circuit to convert an input power signal into a power signal suitablefor luminaire 10.

Luminaire 10 furthers include an intelligent LED driver circuit 310,sensor/control module 315, and a light emitting diode (LED) light source320. Intelligent LED driver circuit 310 is coupled to LED light source320 and drives that LED light source 320 by regulating the power to LEDlight source 320 by providing a constant quantity or power to LED lightsource 320 as its electrical properties change with temperature, forexample. The intelligent LED driver circuit 310 includes a drivercircuit that provides power to LED light source 320 and a pilot LED 317.The pilot LED 317 may be included as part of the sensor/control module315. Intelligent LED driver circuit 310 may be a constant-voltagedriver, constant-current driver, or AC LED driver type circuit thatprovides dimming through a pulse width modulation circuit and may havemany channels for separate control of different LEDs or LED arrays. Anexample of a commercially available intelligent LED driver circuit 310is manufactured by EldoLED.

LED driver circuit 310 can further include an AC or DC current source orvoltage source, a regulator, an amplifier (such as a linear amplifier orswitching amplifier), a buck, boost, or buck/boost converter, or anyother similar type of circuit or component. LED driver circuit 310outputs a variable voltage or current to the LED light source 320 thatmay include a DC offset, such that its average value is nonzero, and/ora AC voltage. The pilot LED 317 indicates the state of the luminaire 10,for example, during the commissioning and maintenance process.

For purposes of communication and control, luminaire 10 is treated assingle addressable device that can be configured to operate as a memberof one or more lighting control groups or zones. The luminaire 10 isline powered and remains operational as long as power is available.

Sensor/control module 315 includes power distribution circuitry 325, amicro-control unit (MCU) 330, drive/sense circuitry 335, and detector(s)365. As shown, MCU 330 is coupled to LED driver circuit 310 and controlsthe light source operation of the LED light source 320. MCU 330 includesa memory 322 (volatile and non-volatile) and a central processing unit(CPU) 323. The memory 322 includes a lighting application 327 (which canbe firmware) for both lighting control operations and commissioning,maintenance, and diagnostic operations. The power distribution circuitry325 distributes power and ground voltages to the MCU 330, drive/sensecircuitry 335, wireless transceivers 345 and 350, and detector(s) 365 toprovide reliable operation of the various circuitry on thesensor/control module 315 chip.

Luminaire 10 also includes a dual-band wireless radio communicationinterface system configured for two way wireless communication. In ourexample, luminaire 10 has a radio set that includes radio 345 forsub-GHz communications and another radio 350 for Bluetooth RFcommunications. A first transceiver 345, such as a 900 MHz wirelesstransceiver, issues control operations on the lighting control network.This first transceiver 345 is for any-to-many communication, over afirst of the two different wireless communication bands, of control andsystems operations information, during luminaire operation and duringcontrol network operation over the first wireless communication band.

A second transceiver 350, such as a 2.4 GHz BLE (Bluetooth) wirelesstransceiver carries out commissioning, maintenance, and diagnostics ofthe lighting control network. This second transceiver 350 is forpoint-to-point communication, over a second of the two differentwireless communication bands, of information other than the control andsystems operations information, concurrently with at least somecommunications over the first wireless communication band.

As shown, the MCU 330 includes programming in the memory 322 whichconfigures the CPU (processor) 323 to control operations of therespective luminaire 10, including the communications over the twodifferent wireless communication bands via the dual-band wireless radiocommunication interface system 345, 350. The programming in the memory322 includes a real-time operating system (RTOS) and further includes alighting application 327 which is firmware/software that engages incommunications with the commissioning/maintenance application 22 ofmobile device 25 over the commissioning network 7 of FIGS. 1A-B. Thelighting application 327 programming in the memory 322 carries outlighting control operations over the lighting control network 5 of FIGS.1A-B. The RTOS supports multiple concurrent processing threads fordifferent simultaneous control or communication operations of theluminaire 10.

Three different CPU and memory architectures are shown for thesensor/control module 315 and the MCU 330 of the luminaire 10 in FIGS.3A-C. In FIG. 3A, in addition to the memory 322 and the CPU 323 of theMCU 330 itself, the first transceiver 345 and the second transceiver 350each include a separate memory (not shown) and a processor (not shown).Hence, in the example of FIG. 3A, the sensor/control module 15 includesa total of three processors and three sets of memory.

In FIG. 3B, the MCU 330 itself does not include a separate memory 322and a CPU 323. Instead, only the first transceiver 345 and the secondtransceiver 350 each include a separate memory 322 and a processor 323.For efficiency purposes, such as to save manufacturing costs andconserve power (e.g., line power or battery power), the memory 322 andCPU 323 of the first transceiver 345 is selected to perform processingbecause the majority of processing (normal lighting control operations)occur over the sub-GHz wireless control network 5. Hence, in the exampleof FIG. 3B, the sensor/control module 315 includes a total of twoprocessors and two sets of memory.

In FIG. 3C, the MCU 330 comprises a dual band system on chip (SOC) 345,350 and the MCU 330 itself does not include a separate memory 322 and aCPU 323. Instead, the first transceiver 345 and the second transceiver350 are integrated and combined into the chipset of the MCU 330. Hence,in the example of FIG. 3C, the sensor/control module 315 includes atotal of one processor and one set of memory. Integrating the firsttransceiver 345 and second transceiver 350 into a dual band SOC chipsetof the MCU 330, saves manufacturing costs and conserves power (e.g.,line power or battery power).

As shown, luminaire 10 includes detector(s) 365, such as an in-fixturedaylight sensor, an occupancy sensor, an audio sensor, a temperaturesensor, or other environmental sensor. Detector(s) 365 may be based onAcuity Brands Lighting's commercially available xPoint® Wireless ES7product. Drive/sense circuitry 335, such as application firmware, drivesthe in-fixture occupancy, audio, and photo sensor hardware. Outlinedbelow are lighting controls and communications in the lighting controlnetwork that occur when drive/sense circuitry 335 of luminaire 10detects state changes in the detector(s) 365, such as occupancy,daylight, and audio sensors.

Sensor State Change

When an occupancy sensor, daylight sensor, or audio sensor state changeoccurs is detected by drive/sense circuitry 335, MCU 330 of theluminaire 10 generates a global broadcast packet and a wireless messageis created with the global broadcast packet as the payload. The messageis sent to the group monitor via the transceiver radio 345 as reliableunicast (unless luminaire 10 is hosting the group monitor) by thelighting application 327 running on MCU.

If a gateway 50 (shown in FIGS. 1A-B) is present, a wireless gatewaynotification is created indicating the sensor, the sensor state(occupied or unoccupied, inhibiting or not inhibiting), the group, andthe zone. The message is then unicast to the gateway 50 by the lightingapplication 327 running on MCU 330.

If the luminaire 10 misses acknowledgement of the wireless messageindicating the sensor state change that luminaire 10 unicasted to groupmonitor within a predetermined time period, for example, then theluminaire 10 generates and issues/transmits a group multicast messageindicating the sensor state change. No check message follow up is issuedfrom the luminaire 10 following this multicast message, but suchcommunication faults and anomalies are tallied by the luminaire 10 forhealth status reporting as described with reference to FIGS. 1A-B.

Group Monitor

The group monitor acknowledges receipt of the message (MAC layer) fromthe luminaire 10 indicating the sensor state change. The group monitorextracts the global broadcast packet from the message and creates amulticast message in response using the global broadcast packet as thepayload indicating or specifying a lighting control event (e.g., turnon/off or dim a light source) and specifying a lighting control group,for example, using a lighting control group identifier. The globalbroadcast packet is temporarily saved. The group monitor transmits themulticast message at least three times, for example. The group monitorsends the global broadcast packet to the applications that share theprocessor with the group monitor. The group monitor interrogates theglobal broadcast packet to determine the type of control and the zone.

If a gateway 50 (see FIG. 1A) is present and the type of control isoccupancy, daylight, or audio sensor related or the zone to make theadjustment to is global, a gateway notification is created indicatingthe sensor, its state (occupied or unoccupied, inhibiting or notinhibiting), the group, and the zone. The message is then reliablyunicast to the gateway 50.

After interrogating the global broadcast to determine the type ofcontrol and zone, the group monitor uses the group table to look up theset of lighting system elements that are members of the zone. The groupmonitor forms a check message using the saved global broadcast as thepayload. The group monitor sends the message reliable unicast to eachdevice in the zone as a check to confirm the receipt of the multicast.This confirmation check is not made with the luminaire 10 that has thesensor that actually initiated the global broadcast event.

The group monitor service accommodates concurrent multiple occupancy,daylighting, or audio events irrespective of zone. The group monitorservice cancels a confirmation check if it receives a state thatobsolesces an active state in progress. In this case, the group monitorservice starts a new confirmation check based on the latest state.

If the group monitor misses the unicast message from the luminaire 10but gets the multicast issued by the luminaire 10—the group monitorexecutes the gateway and zone check described above.

Recipient Lighting System Elements

Upon receipt of a multicast message from the group monitor at arecipient lighting system element (e.g., luminaire, wall switch, plugload controller, or power pack) that was sent in response to theoriginal message from luminaire 10, the recipient device checks thegroup indication and the counter. The message is discarded if thelighting system element is not a member of the identified lightingcontrol group specified in the message. The message is also discarded ifit is a duplicate (multicast switch state change events are transmittedat least three times, for example, by the group monitor).

The global broadcast payload is extracted from the multicast message andprocessed by the lighting application 327 running on the MCU 330. Uponreceipt of the confirmation check, the message is acknowledged (MAC).The recipient lighting system element determines if it has already actedon the event. If not then the global broadcast payload is extracted fromthe unicast message and processed by the lighting application 327running on the MCU 330. Applications are responsible for eitherprocessing the global broadcast or discarding it as out of zone scope.

For example, upon receipt of the multicast message from the lightingcontrol group monitor at a respective recipient lighting system element,the respective recipient lighting system element checks a lightingcontrol group identifier to determine whether the respective recipientcontrol device is a member of the identified lighting control group inthe message. The recipient lighting system element then determineswhether the recipient lighting system element has already acted on alighting control event (e.g., turn on/off or dim a light source) forlighting control network operation that is similar or identical to theevent in the multicast message. If the recipient lighting system elementhas not already acted in accordance with the control event for lightingcontrol operation, the recipient lighting system element adjusts one ofits own LED light source(s) in accordance with the control event.Alternatively, if the recipient lighting system element has alreadyacted on the lighting control event specified in the multicast message,no further action is taken in response by discarding the multicastmessage.

In an example, the scope of daylight light sensor control is that of thehosting luminaire 10 itself. Therefore events of this type may only beprocessed locally and not distributed over the lighting control network5.

FIGS. 4A-C are block diagrams of a wall switch 20 that communicate viathe lighting control system of FIGS. 1A-B. The circuitry, hardware, andsoftware of wall switch 20 shown is similar to the luminaire 10 of FIG.3. However, wall switch 20 is a controller that can be a battery powereddevice.

Wall switch 20 is similar to luminaire 10 in that they are singularlyaddressable devices that can be configured to operate as a member of oneor more lighting control groups or zones. As shown, wall switch 20includes a power supply 405, such as a battery or line power, to poweritself. Wall switch 10 furthers include an LED driver circuit 410, and alight emitting diode(s) (LED) 420. LED driver circuit 410 is coupled toLED(s) 420 and drives that LED(s) 420 by regulating the power to LED(s)420 by providing a constant quantity or power to LED light source 420 asits electrical properties change with temperature, for example. The LEDdriver circuit 410 includes a driver circuit that provides power toLED(s) 420 and a pilot LED 417. LED driver circuit 410 may be aconstant-voltage driver, constant-current driver, or AC LED driver typecircuit that provides dimming through a pulse width modulation circuitand may have many channels for separate control of different LEDs or LEDarrays. An example of a commercially available intelligent LED drivercircuit 410 is manufactured by EldoLED.

LED driver circuit 410 can further include an AC or DC current source orvoltage source, a regulator, an amplifier (such as a linear amplifier orswitching amplifier), a buck, boost, or buck/boost converter, or anyother similar type of circuit or component. LED driver circuit 410outputs a variable voltage or current to the LED light source 420 thatmay include a DC offset, such that its average value is nonzero, and/ora AC voltage. The pilot LED 417 indicates the state of the wall switch20, for example, during the commissioning and maintenance process.

As shown, an MCU 430 is coupled to LED driver circuit 410 and controlsthe light source operation of the LED(s) 420. MCU 430 includes a memory422 (volatile and non-volatile) and a central processing unit (CPU) 423.The memory 422 includes a lighting application 427 (which can befirmware) for both lighting control operations andcommissioning/maintenance operations. The power distribution circuitry425 distributes power and ground voltages to the LED driver circuit 410,MCU 430, drive/sense circuitry 435, wireless transceivers 445 and 450,and switches 465 to provide reliable operation of the various circuitryon the wall switch 20.

Wall switch 20 also includes a dual-band wireless radio communicationinterface system configured for two way wireless communication. In ourexample, wall switch 12 has a radio set that includes radio 445 forsub-GHz communications and another radio 450 for Bluetooth RFcommunication. A first transceiver 445, such as a 900 MHz wirelesstransceiver, issues control operations on the lighting control network.This first transceiver 445 is for any-to-many communication, over afirst of the two different wireless communication bands, of control andsystems operations information, during luminaire operation and duringcontrol network operation over the first wireless communication band.

A second transceiver 450, such as a 2.4 GHz BLE (Bluetooth) wirelesstransceiver carries out commissioning and maintenance of the lightingcontrol network. This second transceiver 450 is for point-to-pointcommunication, over a second of the two different wireless communicationbands, of information other than the control and systems operationsinformation, concurrently with at least some communications over thefirst wireless communication band.

As shown, the MCU 430 includes programming in the memory 422 whichconfigures the CPU (processor) 423 to control operations of therespective wall switch 20, including the communications over the twodifferent wireless communication bands via the dual-band wireless radiocommunication interface system 445, 450. The programming in the memory422 includes a real-time operating system (RTOS) and further includes alighting application 427 which is firmware/software that engages incommunications with the commissioning/maintenance application 22 ofmobile device 25 over the commissioning network 7 of FIGS. 1A-B. Thelighting application 427 programming in the memory 422 carries outlighting control operations over the lighting control network 5 of FIGS.1A-B. The RTOS supports multiple concurrent processing threads fordifferent simultaneous control or communication operations of the wallswitch 20.

Three different CPU and memory architectures are shown for the MCU 430of the wall switch 20 in FIGS. 4A-C. In FIG. 4A, in addition to thememory 422 and the CPU 423 of the MCU 430 itself, the first transceiver445 and the second transceiver 450 each include a separate memory (notshown) and a processor (not shown). Hence, in the example of FIG. 4A,the MCU 430, first transceiver 445, and second transceiver 450 combineto include a total of three processors and three sets of memory.

In FIG. 4B, the MCU 430 itself does not include a separate memory 422and a CPU 423. Instead, only the first transceiver 445 and the secondtransceiver 450 each include a separate memory 422 and a processor 423.For efficiency purposes, such as to save manufacturing costs andconserve power (e.g., line power or battery power), the memory 422 andCPU 423 of the first transceiver 445 is selected to perform processingbecause the majority of processing (normal lighting control operations)occur over the sub-GHz wireless control network 5. Hence, in the exampleof FIG. 4B, the sensor/control module 415 includes a total of twoprocessors and two sets of memory.

In FIG. 4C, the MCU 430 comprises a dual band system on chip (SOC) 445,450 and the MCU 430 itself does not include a separate memory 422 and aCPU 423. Instead, the first transceiver 445 and the second transceiver450 are integrated and combined into the chipset of the MCU 430. Hence,in the example of FIG. 4C, the MCU 430 includes a total of one processorand one set of memory. Integrating the first transceiver 445 and secondtransceiver 450 into a dual band SOC chipset of the MCU 330, savesmanufacturing costs and conserves power (e.g., line power or batterypower).

As shown, wall switch 20 includes switches 465, such as a dimmer switch,set scene switch. Switches 465 can be or include sensors, such asinfrared sensors for occupancy or motion detection, an in-fixturedaylight sensor, an audio sensor, a temperature sensor, or otherenvironmental sensor. Switches 465 may be based on Acuity BrandsLighting's commercially available xPoint® Wireless ES7 product.Drive/sense circuitry 435, such as application firmware, drives theoccupancy, audio, and photo sensor hardware.

In our example, wall switch 20 includes a single shared button switch465 for on/off functions that requires knowledge of state todifferentiate between on and off. The wireless control network 5communicates output device (luminaire 10, plug load controller 30, powerpack 35) state to the wall switches 20 as a means of providing thedifferentiating state. However, the wireless control network 5suppresses the communication of output devices to constrain networktraffic. Therefore control network 5 will rely on the default mechanism(tracked on the device) for determining on/off on all of the types ofwall switch. It is therefore possible for the wall switch 20 tooccasionally be out of sync with the actual state of the zoneparticularly at installation commissioning time. Toggling the switchbutton 465 one or more times will clear any mismatched state. In ourexample, wireless control network 5 does not communicate load state viathe pilot LED 417 of wall switch 20) 20; however, in other exampleswireless control network 5 communicates load state via the pilot LED 417of wall switch 20.

Outlined below are lighting controls and communications in the lightingcontrol network that occur when drive/sense circuitry 435 detects statechanges in the switches 365 of wall switch 20.

Wall Switch Button Pushed

When the on switch 465 is pushed, the lighting application 427 runningon MCU 430 generates a global broadcast packet indicating the controlevent. A wireless message is created with the global broadcast packet asthe payload. The message is sent to the group monitor as reliableunicast. If a gateway 50 (see FIG. 1A) is present and if the globalbroadcast is a switch on/off control, then a gateway notification iscreated indicating the wall switch 20, the state of the wall switch 20,the group, and the zone. The message is unicasted to the gateway 50.

If the wall switch 20 is a battery powered (sleepy) type wall switchwhich uses a sleep feature as a means of power conservation and thusrequires a special mechanism to acquire certain communications upon wakeup, the following extension is used. The wall switch 20 detects thebutton push and turns on the transceiver radio 445 and transmits thewireless message with the global broadcast packet as the payload. Next,the wall switch 20 cancels its wake up timer. The timer wakes the deviceto check its mailbox in the case where no button push has occurred for awhile. The wall switch 20 sends a request for communications to the mailbox server on the group monitor. The group monitor returns the contentsof the mailbox addressed to the wall switch.

The wall switch 20 processes each request. Examples include a requestfor health status or a state change request. The wall switch sets itwake up timer and the timer period is directly related to the frequencyof system health reporting. The lighting application 427 de-bounces acontinual or rapid button depress sequence so as to not create a messagestorm at the group monitor. If the wall switch 20 doesn't receive theacknowledgment from the group monitor when the global broadcast packetis unicasted to the group monitor, then the switch will generate andissue the group multicast. In this instance, no check message follow upis issued from the wall switch 20. Communication faults and anomaliesare tallied by the switch for health status reporting as describedpreviously with reference to luminaire 10.

Group Monitor

The group monitor acknowledges (MAC layer) receipt of the message fromthe wall switch 20 indicating pushing of the on switch 465. The groupmonitor extracts the global broadcast packet from the message andcreates a multicast message in response using the global broadcastpacket as the payload indicating or specifying a lighting control event(e.g., turn on/off or dim a light source) and specifying a lightingcontrol group, for example, using a lighting control group identifier.The global broadcast packet is temporarily saved.

The group monitor transmits the multicast message at least three times,for example. The group monitor sends the global broadcast packet to theapplications that share the processor with the group monitor. The groupmonitor interrogates the global broadcast packet to determine the typeof control and the zone.

If a gateway 50 (see FIG. 1A) is present and the type of control is aswitch on/off or the zone to make the adjustment to is global, then agateway notification is created indicating the state of the switch, thegroup, and the zone. The message is reliably unicast to the gateway 50.

The group monitor uses the group table to look up the set of devicesthat are members of the zone. The group monitor forms a check messageusing the saved global broadcast as the payload. The group monitor sendsthe message (reliable unicast) to each lighting system element in thezone as a check to confirm the receipt of the multicast. Of note, theconfirmation check is not made with the wall switch 20 that actuallyinitiated the control event.

The group monitor service accommodates concurrent multiple switch on/offevents irrespective of zone. The group monitor service cancels aconfirmation check if it receives a state that obsolesces an activestate in progress. In this case the group monitor service starts a newconfirmation check based on the latest state. If the group monitormisses the unicast message from the switch but gets the multicast issuedby the switch—the group monitor executes the gateway and zone checkdescribed above.

Recipient Lighting System Elements

Upon receipt of a multicast message from the group monitor at arecipient lighting system element (e.g., luminaire, wall switch, plugload controller, or power pack) that was sent in response to theoriginal message from wall switch 20, the recipient device checks thegroup indication and the counter. The message is discarded if therecipient device is not a member of the identified lighting controlgroup specified in the message. The message is also discarded if it is aduplicate (multicast switch state change events are transmitted at leastthree times, for example, by the group monitor). The global broadcastpayload is extracted from the multicast message and processed by thelighting application 427 running on the MCU 430. Upon receipt of theconfirmation check, the message is acknowledged (MAC).

The recipient lighting system element determines if it has already actedon the event. If not then the global broadcast payload is extracted fromthe unicast message and processed by the lighting application 427. Theapplications are responsible for either processing the global broadcastor discarding it as out of zone scope.

For example, upon receipt of the multicast message from the lightingcontrol group monitor at a respective recipient lighting system element,the respective recipient lighting system element checks a lightingcontrol group identifier to determine whether the respective recipientcontrol device is a member of the identified lighting control group inthe message. The recipient lighting system element then determineswhether the recipient lighting system element has already acted on alighting control event (turn on/off or dim) for lighting control networkoperation that is similar or identical to the event in the multicastmessage. If the recipient lighting system element has not already actedin accordance with the control event for lighting control operation, therecipient lighting system element adjusts one of its own LED lightsource(s) in accordance with the control event. Alternatively, if therecipient lighting system element has already acted on the lightingcontrol event specified in the multicast message, no further action istaken in response by discarding the multicast message.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a plug load controller 30 that communicatesvia the lighting control system of FIG. 1B. The circuitry, hardware, andsoftware of plug load controller 30 shown is similar to the luminaire 10of FIG. 3. However, plug load controller 30 is a retrofit device thatplugs into existing AC wall outlets, for example, and allows existingwired lighting devices, such as table lamps or floor lamps that pluginto a wall outlet, to operate in the lighting control system. The plugload controller 30 instantiates the table lamp or floor lamp by allowingfor commissioning and maintenance operations and processes wirelesslighting controls in order to the allow the lighting device to operatein the lighting control system.

Plug load controller 30 is similar to luminaire 10 in that they aresingularly addressable devices that can be configured to operate as amember of one or more lighting control groups or zones. As shown, plugload controller 30 includes a DC conversion circuit 505 (which mayinstead be a power supply) driven by a power source 500, in our example,an AC line or mains. Power source 500, however, may be a battery, solarpanel, or any other AC or DC source.

DC conversion circuit 505 receives power from the power source 500, andmay include a magnetic transformer, electronic transformer, switchingconverter, rectifier, or any other similar type of circuit to convert aninput power signal into a suitable power signal to power itself. Plugload controller 500 further comprises an AC power relay 560 which relaysincoming AC power from power source 500 to other devices that may pluginto the receptacle of plug load controller 30 thus providing an ACpower outlet 570.

Plug load controller 30 furthers include an LED driver circuit 510 and alight emitting diode(s) (LED) 520. LED driver circuit 510 is coupled toLED(s) 520 and drives that LED(s) 520 by regulating the power to LED(s)520 by providing a constant quantity or power to LED(s) 520 as itselectrical properties change with temperature, for example. The LEDdriver circuit 510 includes a driver circuit that provides power toLED(s) 520 and a pilot LED 517. LED driver circuit 510 may be aconstant-voltage driver, constant-current driver, or AC LED driver typecircuit that provides dimming through a pulse width modulation circuitand may have many channels for separate control of different LEDs or LEDarrays. An example of a commercially available intelligent LED drivercircuit 510 is manufactured by EldoLED.

LED driver circuit 510 can further include an AC or DC current source orvoltage source, a regulator, an amplifier (such as a linear amplifier orswitching amplifier), a buck, boost, or buck/boost converter, or anyother similar type of circuit or component. LED driver circuit 510outputs a variable voltage or current to the LED(s) 520 that may includea DC offset, such that its average value is nonzero, and/or a ACvoltage. The pilot LED 417 indicates the state of the plug loadcontroller 30, for example, during the commissioning and maintenanceprocess.

For purposes of communication and control, plug load controller 30 istreated as single addressable device that can be configured to operateas a member of one or more lighting control groups or zones. The plugload controller 30 is line powered and remains operational as long aspower is available.

Plug load controller 30 includes power distribution circuitry 525 and amicro-control unit (MCU) 530. As shown, MCU 530 is coupled to LED drivercircuit 510 and controls the light source operation of the LED(s) 520.MCU 530 includes a memory 522 (volatile and non-volatile) and a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 523. The memory 522 includes a lightingapplication 527 (which can be firmware) for both lighting controloperations and commissioning/maintenance operations. The powerdistribution circuitry 525 distributes power and ground voltages to theLED driver circuit 510, MCU 530, and wireless transceivers 545 and 550to provide reliable operation of the various circuitry on the plug loadcontroller 30 chip.

Plug load controller 30 also includes a dual-band wireless radiocommunication interface system configured for two way wirelesscommunication. In our example, plug load controller 30 has a radio setthat includes radio 545 for sub-GHz communications and another radio 550for Bluetooth RF communications. A first transceiver 545, such as a 900MHz wireless transceiver, issues control operations on the lightingcontrol network. This first transceiver 545 is for any-to-manycommunication, over a first of the two different wireless communicationbands, of control and systems operations information, during luminaireoperation and during control network operation over the first wirelesscommunication band.

A second transceiver 550, such as a 2.4 GHz BLE (Bluetooth) wirelesstransceiver carries out commissioning and maintenance of the lightingcontrol network. This second transceiver 550 is for point-to-pointcommunication, over a second of the two different wireless communicationbands, of information other than the control and systems operationsinformation, concurrently with at least some communications over thefirst wireless communication band.

As shown, the MCU 530 includes programming in the memory 522 whichconfigures the CPU (processor) 523 to control operations of therespective plug load controller 30, including the communications overthe two different wireless communication bands via the dual-bandwireless radio communication interface system 545, 550. The programmingin the memory 522 includes a real-time operating system (RTOS) andfurther includes a lighting application 527 which is firmware/softwarethat engages in communications with the commissioning/maintenanceapplication 22 of mobile device 25 over the commissioning network 7 ofFIGS. 1A-B. The lighting application 527 programming in the memory 522carries out lighting control operations over the lighting controlnetwork 5 of FIGS. 1A-B. The RTOS supports multiple concurrentprocessing threads for different simultaneous control or communicationoperations of the plug load controller 30.

Although not shown, it should be understood that the MCU 530 of plugload controller 30 may be of the three different CPU and memoryarchitectures depicted and described for the luminaire 10 in FIGS. 3A-Cand the wall switch 20 in FIGS. 4A-C. As explained earlier, integratingthe first transceiver 545 and second transceiver 550, for example, intoa dual band SOC chipset of the MCU 530, saves manufacturing costs andconserves power (e.g., line power or battery power).

Plug load controller 30 may include detector(s), such as a daylightsensor, an occupancy sensor, an audio sensor, a temperature sensor, orother environmental sensor (not shown). Detector(s) may be based onAcuity Brands Lighting's commercially available xPoint® Wireless ES7product. Drive/sense circuitry (not shown), such as applicationfirmware, can drive the occupancy and photo sensor hardware.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a power pack 35 that communicates via thelighting control system of FIG. 1B. The circuitry, hardware, andsoftware of power pack 35 shown is similar to the luminaire 10 of FIG.3. However, power pack 35 is a device that retrofits with existing wiredlight fixtures (luminaires). The power pack 35 instantiates the wiredlight fixture by allowing for commissioning and maintenance operationsand processes wireless lighting controls in order to allow the lightingdevice to operate in the lighting control system.

Power pack 35 is similar to luminaire 10 in that they are singularlyaddressable devices that can be configured to operate as a member of oneor more lighting control groups or zones. As shown, power pack 35includes a DC conversion circuit 605 (which may instead be a powersupply) driven by a power source 600, in our example, an AC line ormains. Power source 600, however, may be a battery, solar panel, or anyother AC or DC source.

DC conversion circuit 605 receives power from the power source 600, andmay include a magnetic transformer, electronic transformer, switchingconverter, rectifier, or any other similar type of circuit to convert aninput power signal into a suitable power signal to power itself. Powerpack 35 further comprises an AC power relay 660 which relays incoming ACpower from power source 600 to the existing wired luminaire.

Power pack 35 furthers include an LED driver circuit 610. LED drivercircuit 610 is coupled to luminaire and drives that luminaire byregulating a driving signal, in our example, a 0-10V dimming signal 620.The LED driver circuit 610 includes a driver circuit that provides powerto a pilot LED 617 and a dimming signal to luminaire 620. LED drivercircuit 610 may be a constant-voltage driver, constant-current driver,or AC LED driver type circuit that provides dimming through a pulsewidth modulation circuit and may have many channels for separate controlof different LEDs or LED arrays. An example of a commercially availableintelligent LED driver circuit 610 is manufactured by EldoLED.

LED driver circuit 610 can further include an AC or DC current source orvoltage source, a regulator, an amplifier (such as a linear amplifier orswitching amplifier), a buck, boost, or buck/boost converter, or anyother similar type of circuit or component. LED driver circuit 610outputs a variable voltage or current as the dimming signal toluminaire(s) 620 that may include a DC offset, such that its averagevalue is nonzero, and/or a AC voltage. The pilot LED 617 indicates thestate of the power pack 35, for example, during the commissioning andmaintenance process.

For purposes of communication and control, power pack 35 is treated assingle addressable device that can be configured to operate as a memberof one or more lighting control groups or zones. The power pack 35 isline powered and remains operational as long as power is available.

Power pack 35 includes power distribution circuitry 625 and amicro-control unit (MCU) 630. As shown, MCU 630 is coupled to LED drivercircuit 610 and controls the light source operation of the luminaire viathe dimming signal to luminaire 620. MCU 630 includes a memory 622(volatile and non-volatile) and a central processing unit (CPU) 623. Thememory 622 includes a lighting application 627 (which can be firmware)for both lighting control operations and commissioning/maintenanceoperations. The power distribution circuitry 625 distributes power andground voltages to the LED driver circuit 610, MCU 630, and wirelesstransceivers 645 and 650 to provide reliable operation of the variouscircuitry on the power pack 35 chip.

Power pack 35 also includes a dual-band wireless radio communicationinterface system configured for two way wireless communication. In ourexample, power pack 35 has a radio set that includes radio 645 forsub-GHz communications and another radio 650 for Bluetooth RFcommunications. A first transceiver 645, such as a 900 MHz wirelesstransceiver, issues control operations on the lighting control network.This first transceiver 645 is for any-to-many communication, over afirst of the two different wireless communication bands, of control andsystems operations information, during luminaire operation and duringcontrol network operation over the first wireless communication band.

A second transceiver 650, such as a 2.4 GHz BLE (Bluetooth) wirelesstransceiver carries out commissioning and maintenance of the lightingcontrol network. This second transceiver 650 is for point-to-pointcommunication, over a second of the two different wireless communicationbands, of information other than the control and systems operationsinformation, concurrently with at least some communications over thefirst wireless communication band.

As shown, the MCU 630 includes programming in the memory 622 whichconfigures the CPU (processor) 623 to control operations of therespective power pack 35, including the communications over the twodifferent wireless communication bands via the dual-band wireless radiocommunication interface system 645, 650. The programming in the memory622 includes a real-time operating system (RTOS) and further includes alighting application 627 which is firmware/software that engages incommunications with the commissioning/maintenance application 22 ofmobile device 25 over the commissioning network 7 of FIGS. 1A-B. Thelighting application 627 programming in the memory 622 carries outlighting control operations over the lighting control network 5 of FIGS.1A-B. The RTOS supports multiple concurrent processing threads fordifferent simultaneous control or communication operations of the powerpack 35.

Although not shown, it should be understood that the MCU 630 of powerpack 35 may be of the three different CPU and memory architecturesdepicted and described for the luminaire 10 in FIGS. 3A-C and the wallswitch 20 in FIGS. 4A-C. As explained earlier, integrating the firsttransceiver 645 and second transceiver 650, for example, into a dualband SOC chipset of the MCU 630, saves manufacturing costs and conservespower (e.g., line power or battery power).

Power pack 35 may include detector(s), such as a daylight sensor, anoccupancy sensor, an audio sensor, a temperature sensor, or otherenvironmental sensor (not shown). Detector(s) may be based on AcuityBrands Lighting's commercially available xPoint® Wireless ES7 product.Drive/sense circuitry (not shown), such as application firmware, candrive the occupancy and photo sensor hardware.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart presenting the states and transitions for thevarious lighting system elements of FIGS. 1A-B. As shown in FIG. 7, thevarious lighting system elements (luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N,plug load controller 30, and power pack 35) go through a series ofstates and transitions during commissioning of the lighting controlsystem, when lighting control operations are executed, and duringmaintenance.

Beginning in block 700, lighting system elements are not yet powered upor installed. Moving now to block 710, upon power up after installationthe lighting system elements behave as autonomous devices. There is nosub-GHz subnetwork to provide collaborative control, however thelighting system elements begin BLE beaconing to identify themselves to acommissioning/maintenance application 22 executing on a mobile device25.

Upon power up, luminaries 10A-N enter an autonomous control mode thatpermits the integrated detector(s) (e.g., occupancy, daylight/photo, oraudio sensors) to exert limited control (lights on/off, dim up/down) ofthe light fixture. The control behavior is defined as default settingsfor the device.

After power up, wall switches 20A-N may turn off their beacons after apredetermined time period (e.g., one hour) after powering up in order toconserve battery life. While in an installed state, the wall switches20A-N can be induced to restart their beacons by pushing any buttonoffered. For example, the wall switches 20A-N switch off their beaconsafter a predetermined time period (e.g., one hour) after a button push.

On board pilot LEDs of the luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, andother lighting system elements visually signal the state of the lightingsystem element (for all states) as an aid to the system installer andmaintainer that is operating the commissioning/maintenance application22 on the mobile device 25. The pilot LED goes off when the lightingsystem element is in an installed state.

Continuing now to block 720, the luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N,and other lighting system elements enter a commissioning state from theinstalled state upon connection to the commissioning/maintenanceapplication 22 of the mobile device 25. The luminaires 10A-N, wallswitches 20A-N, and other lighting system elements receive configurationinformation via the commissioning/maintenance application 22 and willtransition to an operational state upon completing the commissioningprocess and connecting to the group subnetwork.

The advertising beacon signals a sub-state while the luminaires 10A-Nand wall switches 20A-N undergo commissioning. The luminaires 10A-N,wall switches 20A-N, and other lighting system elements advertise anun-configured sub-state until completion of MAC-PHY configuration.Afterwards and until operational, the wall switches 20A-N or luminaires10A-N advertise a waiting-connect (sub-GHz net) sub-state. Each of theluminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, and other lighting systemelements is commanded to issue a blink during its commissioning phase,otherwise the LED is off.

Proceeding now to block 730, the luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N,and other lighting system elements participate in collaborative groupand zone lighting control while in an operational state. For example,sensors 365 of luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, and other lightingsystem elements affect zone behavior by signaling control measures tothe lighting elements in the zone's fixtures.

As a security measure all luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, andother lighting system elements, with the exception of the group monitor,cease BLE beaconing during the operational state. The group monitorchanges its advertisement to indicate its role as the group monitor andits state (operational). The pilot LED remains off during theoperational state.

Continuing now to block 740, depending on condition, luminaires 10A-N,wall switches 20A-N, and other lighting system elements experiencingfaults may enter a degraded state where partial capability is available.It may be possible to correct a degraded state through thecommissioning/maintenance application 22 of the mobile device 25. Inthis case, the degraded luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, and otherlighting system elements are commanded to switch to the maintenancestate, the commissioning/maintenance application 22 of the mobile device25 is connected, a fix is attempted, and the device transitions toeither operational state or back to degraded state depending on outcomeof fix. Pilot LEDs can issue a bright S-O-S indication of three rapidblinks, three off counts, and three rapid blinks while in degradedstate. Upon button push, wall switches issue the same S-O-S type ofsignal 5 times and then cease activity to conserve battery power.

Moving now to block 750, luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, andother lighting system elements can be commanded to enter a maintenancestate. The command arrives over the lighting control network (sub-GHznetwork) from the group monitor. The luminaires 10A-N, wall switches20A-N, and other lighting system elements maintain full or degradedoperating capability while in the maintenance state. The luminaires10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, and other lighting system elements resumeBLE advertising (state=maintenance) seeking connection withcommissioning/maintenance application 22 of the mobile device 25.Luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, and other lighting systemelements can then be re-configured via the commissioning/maintenanceapplication 22 of the mobile device 25. The luminaires 10A-N, wallswitches 20A-N, and other lighting system elements transition to anoperational (or degraded) state upon command to exit the maintenancestate. The pilot LED executes a continuous bright blink when in themaintenance state. Upon button push, wall switches 20A-N issue the samecontinuous bright blink type of signal 5 times and then cease LEDactivity to conserve battery power.

FIG. 8 is a high-level functional block diagram of a mobile device 25for commissioning and maintenance of the lighting control system ofFIGS. 1A-B. Shown are elements of a touch screen type of mobile device25 having the commissioning/maintenance application 22 loaded, althoughother non-touch type mobile devices can be used in the prior token-basedcommunications under consideration here. Examples of touch screen typemobile devices that may be used include (but are not limited to) a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer or otherportable device. However, the structure and operation of the touchscreen type devices 25 is provided by way of example; and the subjecttechnology as described herein is not intended to be limited thereto.For purposes of this discussion, FIG. 8 therefore provides a blockdiagram illustration of the example of mobile device 25 having a touchscreen display for displaying content and receiving user input as (or aspart of) the user interface.

The activities that are the focus of discussions here typically involvedata communications. As shown in FIG. 8, the mobile device 25 includes afirst digital transceiver (XCVR) 809 a, for digital wirelesscommunications via a wide area wireless mobile communication network andsecond digital XCVR 810 a for digital wireless communications via aBluetooth network, although the mobile device 25 may include additionaldigital or analog transceivers (not shown).

The transceiver 810 a (network communication interface) conforms to oneor more of the various digital wireless communication standards forBluetooth communications. As discussed previously, communicationsthrough the Bluetooth transceiver 810 a and the commissioning network 7shown in FIGS. 1A-B relate to protocols and procedures in support ofcommissioning and maintaining lighting system elements, includingluminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N, plug load controller 30, andpower pack 35. In addition, communications to gateway 50 are alsosupported. Such communications, for example, may utilize IP packet datatransport utilizing the digital wireless transceiver (XCVR) 810 a andover the air communications via commissioning network 7 shown in FIGS.1A-B. Transceiver 810 a connects through radio frequency (RF)send-and-receive amplifiers (not shown) to an antenna 810 b.

The transceiver 809 a (network communication interface) conforms to oneor more of the various digital wireless communication standards utilizedby modern mobile networks. Examples of such transceivers include (butare not limited to) transceivers configured to operate in accordancewith Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and 3rd Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) network technologies including, for example and withoutlimitation, 3GPP type 2 (or 3GPP2) and LTE, at times referred to as“4G.” For example, transceiver 809 a provides two-way wirelesscommunication of information including digitized audio signals, stillimage and/or video signals, web page information for display as well asweb related inputs, and various types of mobile message communicationsto/from the mobile device 25.

In one example, the transceiver 809 a sends and receives a variety ofsignaling messages in support of various data services provided by anetwork of a wireless service provider, to user(s) of mobile device 25via a mobile communication network (not shown). Transceiver 809 a alsoconnects through radio frequency (RF) send-and-receive amplifiers (notshown) to an antenna 809 b.

Many modern mobile device(s) 25 also support wireless local area networkcommunications over WiFi, instead of or in addition to datacommunications using the wide area mobile communication network. Hence,in the example of FIG. 8, for packet data communications, mobile device25 may also include a WiFi transceiver 811 a and associated antenna 811b. Although WiFi is used here as the example, the transceiver 811 a maytake the form of any available two-way wireless local area network(WLAN) transceiver of a type that is compatible with one or morestandard protocols of communication implemented in wireless local areanetworks, such as one of the WiFi standards under IEEE 802.11 and/orWiMAX.

The transceiver 811 a, for example, may provide two-way data transportfor wireless communication with a wireless access point in a residenceor enterprise that the user frequents or with any available hotspotoffered in a public venue. A WiFi access point (not shown), communicateswith compatible user equipment, such as the mobile device 25, over theair using the applicable WiFi protocol. The WiFi access point providesnetwork connectivity, usually to a wide area network 55 (as shown inFIGS. 1A-B), such as the Internet. In a home or office premises, forexample, the WiFi access point would connect directly or via a localarea network (LAN) to a line providing internet access service. In amore public venue, an access point configured as a hotspot may offersimilar connectivity for customers or others using the venue, on termsand conditions set by the venue operator. Although communicating througha different network or networks, the transceiver 811 a supports varioustypes of data communications similar to the packet data communicationssupported via the mobile network transceiver 809 a, includingcommunications to and from gateway 50 and the other devices shown inFIGS. 1A-B.

The mobile device 25 further includes a microprocessor, sometimesreferred to herein as the host controller 802. A processor 802 is acircuit having elements structured and arranged to perform one or moreprocessing functions, typically various data processing functions.Although discrete logic components could be used, the examples utilizecomponents forming a programmable CPU. A microprocessor 802 for exampleincludes one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips incorporating theelectronic elements to perform the functions of the CPU. The processor802, for example, may be based on any known or available microprocessorarchitecture, such as a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) usingan ARM architecture, as commonly used today in mobile devices and otherportable electronic devices. Of course, other processor circuitry may beused to form the CPU or processor hardware in mobile device 25, otherdevices and server computers (e.g., gateway 50), network elements, etc.

Returning more specifically to the mobile device 25 example of FIG. 8,the microprocessor 802 serves as a programmable host controller formobile device 25 by configuring device 25 to perform various operations,for example, in accordance with instructions or programming executableby processor 802. For example, such operations may include variousgeneral operations of the mobile device 25, as well as operationsrelated to communications with luminaires 10A-N, wall switches 20A-N andother lighting system elements during commissioning and maintenanceperformed by the commissioning/maintenance application 22. Although aprocessor may be configured by use of hardwired logic, typicalprocessors in mobile devices are general processing circuits configuredby execution of programming.

The mobile device 25 includes a memory or storage system 804, forstoring data and programming. In the example, the memory system 804 mayinclude a flash memory 804 a and a random access memory (RAM) 804 b. TheRAM 804 b serves as short term storage for instructions and data beinghandled by the processor 802, e.g. as a working data processing memory.The flash memory 804 a typically provides longer term storage.

Hence, in the example of mobile device 25, the flash memory 804 a isused to store programming or instructions for execution by the processor802. Depending on the type of device, the mobile device 25 stores andruns a mobile operating system through which specific applications,including commissioning/maintenance application 22 (which may be a webbrowser executing a dynamic web page) or a native application, run onthe mobile device 25. Examples of mobile operating systems includeGoogle Android, Apple iOS (I-Phone or iPad devices), Windows Mobile,Amazon Fire OS, RIM BlackBerry operating system, or the like. Flashmemory 804 a may also be used to store mobile configuration settings fordifferent mobile applications or services executable at device 25 usingprocessor 802.

Of course, other storage devices or configurations may be added to orsubstituted for those in the example. Such other storage devices may beimplemented using any type of storage medium having computer orprocessor readable instructions or programming stored therein and mayinclude, for example, any or all of the tangible memory of thecomputers, processors or the like, or associated modules.

The instructions or programming may be used to implement any otherdevice functions associated with communications for commissioning andmaintenance on mobile device 25. Program aspects of the technology maybe thought of as “products” or “articles of manufacture” typically inthe form of executable code or process instructions and/or associateddata that is stored on or embodied in a type of machine or processorreadable medium (e.g., transitory or non-transitory), such as one of thememories 804 a, 804 b of memory system 804, or a memory of a computerused to download or otherwise install such programming into the mobiledevice, or a transportable storage device or a communications medium forcarrying program for installation in the mobile device 25.

In the example, the flash memory 804 a stores applications for executionby the microprocessor-based host controller 802, typically throughoperation/execution of the device operating system. Of note, forpurposes of the present discussion, the flash memory 804 stores acommissioning/maintenance application 22 as one of the programs forexecution by the microprocessor 802. Execution ofcommissioning/maintenance application 22 by the microprocessor 802configures mobile device 25 to perform a variety of functions,particularly to commission and maintain the lighting system elementsover the commissioning network 7. In the example,commissioning/maintenance application 22 also engages in communicationswith the gateway 50.

In the illustrated example, the mobile device 25 includes a securecomponent 800. The secure component 800 (e.g. a secure element or “SE”)may be provisioned as a section within the memory 804 or may take theform of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) located within thedevice 25. A common example of a UICC implementation of the SE 800 is asubscriber identity module (SIM). As discussed above, the SE providessecure storage for various identifiers associated with mobile device 25.The SE typically has a unique identifier and is provisioned foroperation of the mobile device 25 by storage of a mobile directorynumber (MDN) and/or mobile identification number (MIN) assigned to thedevice 25 by the carrier network operator.

The secure component contains applications that use secure keys runninginside the secure processor. Although similar to other applications, theapplications for the secure processor are sometimes smaller andsometimes referred to as applets 843. In an example,commissioning/maintenance application 22 may be an applet residing inthe SE 800. For example, there may be at least one applet 842 to engagein communications.

The mobile device 25 may include a variety of different types ofphysical user interface elements to interact with thecommissioning/maintenance application 22. For discussion purposes, inthe mobile device 25 shown in FIG. 8, the physical user interfaceelements of device 20 includes a touch screen display 820 (also referredto herein as “touch screen 820” or “display 820”) to support gestures.For output purposes, the touch screen 820 includes a display screen,such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like. For input purposes,touch screen display 820 includes a plurality of touch sensors 822.

A keypad may be implemented in hardware as a physical keyboard of mobiledevice 25, and keys may correspond to hardware keys of such a keyboard.Alternatively, some or all of the keys 830 (and keyboard) of device 25may be implemented as “soft keys” of a virtual keyboard graphicallyrepresented in an appropriate arrangement via touch screen display 820.The soft keys presented on the touch screen display 820 may allow theuser of device 25 to invoke the same user interface functions as withthe physical hardware keys for authentication purposes.

In general, touch screen display 820 and touch sensors 822 (and one ormore keys 630, if included) are used to provide a textual and graphicaluser interface for the mobile device 25. In an example, touch screendisplay 820 provides viewable content to the user at device 25. Touchscreen display 820 also enables the user to interact directly with theviewable content provided in the content display area, typically bytouching the surface of the screen with a finger or an implement such asa stylus.

As shown in FIG. 8, the mobile device 25 also includes a sense circuit828 coupled to touch sensors 822 for detecting the occurrence andrelative location/position of each touch with respect to a contentdisplay area of touch screen display 820. In this example, sense circuit828 is configured to provide processor 802 with touch-positioninformation based on user input received via touch sensors 822. In someimplementations, processor 802 is configured to correlate the touchposition information to specific content being displayed within thecontent display area on touch screen display 820. The touch-positioninformation captured by the sense circuit 828 and provided to processor802 may include, but is not limited to, coordinates identifying thelocation of each detected touch with respect to the display area oftouch screen display 820 and a timestamp corresponding to each detectedtouch position. Accordingly, the processor 802 may determine input of aphone number, a token, or menu identifiers selected during audiblescripts, for example.

FIG. 9A is a wireless advertising packet format for commissioning alighting system element on a lighting control network via acommissioning network. The wireless advertising packet 900 includes aone byte preamble 905, four byte access address 910, an 8-39 byteadvertising/data channel protocol data unit (PDU) or payload 915, and athree byte cyclic redundancy check (CRC) 920. The advertisement packet900 is sent in the clear by the lighting system element with noencryption as it carries no sensitive information. The wireless lightingcontrol system determines the optimum advertising interval, which can bedynamically adjusted or a predetermined time interval (e.g., fixed orstatic time period). A scan request by a mobile device 25, for example,results in a scan response with a payload identical to that of theadvertisement

FIG. 9B is an exploded view of an advertising channel PDU 915 of theadvertising packet of FIG. 9A. As shown, the advertising channel PDU 915includes a two byte header 925 and a 6-37 byte payload 930.

FIG. 9C is an exploded view of a header 925 of the advertising channelPDU 915 of FIG. 9B. The header 925 of the advertising channel PDU 915includes the following fields: a four bit PDU type 935, a two bitreserved for future use (RFU) 940, a one bit TxAdd 945, a one bit RxAdd950, a 6 bit length 955, and a 2 bit RFU 960. The PDU type 935 indicatesthe advertising channel type, for example, ADV_IND (0000),ADV_DIRECT_IND (0001), ADV_NONCONN_IND, (0010), SCAN_REQ (0011),SCAN_RSP (0100), CONNECT_REQ (0101), and ADV_SCAN_IND (0110). Twopayload types (SCAN_REQ and SCAN_RESP) will result in a scan request orresponse. The other four PDU types are advertising channel types TheTxAdd 945 and RxAdd 950 fields indicate whether the advertiser orinitiator are public, respectively. Length 955 indicates length of thepayload 930 in bytes.

FIG. 9D is an exploded view of a payload 930 of the advertising channelPDU 915 of FIG. 9B. As shown advertising channel PDU 930 includes an ADVaddress 965 field. ADV address is the public or random device address ofan advertising lighting system element. Lighting system element specificdata goes into each of the AD [0 . . . N] index fields 970, 975, and980.

FIG. 9E is an exploded view of an advertising index 970 of the payload930 of FIG. 9D. As shown the advertising index 970 includes an AD length985, an AD type 990, and an AD data 995 field.

Each of the advertising indices [0 . . . N] 970, 975, 980 are used tocarry command-response schemes. However, some command-response messagescan be too large to fit in the maximum payload portion of the payloadtransmission unit (20 bytes), therefore message fragmentation andre-assembly capability may be used for such command-response messages.

Some of the commands embedded in the advertising indices [0 . . . N]970, 975, 980 include identification of a lighting system element (e.g.,to blink or cease blinking), RF channel discovery (e.g., general requestfor channel discovery, progress indication, and actual RF channelselection), tuning RF power (tune RF power or progress indication),setting the lighting control network configuration (e.g., short MACaddress), and setting the lighting control network address table(including defining lighting control group behavior).

It will be understood that the terms and expressions used herein havethe ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions withrespect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and studyexcept where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be usedsolely to distinguish one entity or action from another withoutnecessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or orderbetween such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,”“includes,” “including,” or any other variation thereof, are intended tocover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article,or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include onlythose elements but may include other elements not expressly listed orinherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An elementpreceded by “a” or “an” does not, without further constraints, precludethe existence of additional identical elements in the process, method,article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

Unless otherwise stated, any and all measurements, values, ratings,positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that are setforth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, areapproximate, not exact. They are intended to have a reasonable rangethat is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with whatis customary in the art to which they pertain.

While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the bestmode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modificationsmay be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may beimplemented in various forms and examples, and that they may be appliedin numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein.It is intended by the following claims to claim any and allmodifications and variations that fall within the true scope of thepresent concepts.

1. A method comprising: establishing a commissioning connection witheach of a plurality of lighting system elements; building a lightingcontrol group network table listing an entry for each of the lightingsystem elements as members of a lighting control group, the lightingcontrol group network table including an entry for each of the pluralityof lighting system elements; based on communication with each lightingsystem element via an established commissioning connection, selectingone of the lighting system elements as a lighting control group monitor;and sending the lighting control group network table to the lightingcontrol group monitor to establish the lighting control group arrangedto communicate over a wireless lighting control network.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein selecting the lighting control group monitorcomprises: for each of the plurality of lighting system elements,determining a location of the respective lighting system element;identifying, based on the determined locations, one lighting systemelement as being a most centrally located lighting system elementrelative to all of the determined locations; and selecting theidentified one lighting system element as the lighting control groupmonitor.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein establishing thecommissioning connection with each of the lighting system elementsfurther comprises: deriving a respective location of each lightingsystem element based on a location of the mobile device during therespective establishment of the commissioning network connection; anddetermining the location of the respective lighting system element isbased on the respective derived location.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein selecting the lighting control group monitor further comprises:identifying, based on the determined locations, another lighting systemelement as being a next most centrally located lighting system elementrelative to all of the determined locations; and selecting theidentified other identified lighting system element as a backup lightingcontrol group monitor.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein selecting thelighting control group monitor further comprises: repeatedly, for theremaining plurality of lighting system elements, identifying asubsequent lighting system element as being another next most centrallylocated lighting system element relative to all of the determinedlocations such that the plurality of lighting system elements is orderedfrom most centrally located to least centrally located; and selecting,based on the order, each of the remaining plurality of lighting systemelements as a correspondingly further subsequent backup lighting controlgroup monitor.
 6. The method of claim 14, wherein establishing thecommissioning network connection with each of the lighting systemelements further comprises: deriving a respective location of eachlighting system element based on a location of the mobile device duringthe respective established commissioning network connection; anddetermining the location of the respective lighting system element isbased on the respective derived location.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: upon selecting the lighting control group monitor,modifying the entry for one selected system element in the lightingcontrol group network table to indicate that the one selected systemelement is the lighting control group monitor.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: upon selecting the lighting control group monitor,selecting another of the lighting system elements as a backup lightingcontrol group monitor, the backup lighting control group monitor beingselected based on a location of the backup lighting control groupmonitor relative to the other lighting system elements; repeatedlyselecting, based on a location relative to the other lighting systemelements, a subsequent lighting system element as a subsequent backuplighting control group monitor such that, except for the lightingcontrol group monitor, each lighting system element is selected as asubsequent backup to one other lighting system element; and modifyingthe lighting control group network table such that each entry indicatesthe corresponding lighting system element is either the lighting controlgroup monitor, the backup lighting control group monitor or one of thesubsequent backup lighting control group monitors.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising: for each of the plurality of lightingsystem elements, determining a location of the respective lightingsystem element; identifying, based on the determined locations, alighting system element as being most centrally located relative to allof the determined locations; identifying, based on the determinedlocations, another lighting system element as being a next mostcentrally located relative to all of the determined locations;repeatedly identifying, based on the determined locations, a subsequentlighting system element as being a subsequently next most centrallylocated relative to all of the determined locations; selecting thelighting control group monitor comprises selecting the one determinedlighting system element as the lighting control group monitor; selectingthe backup lighting control group monitor comprises selecting the otheridentified lighting system element as the backup lighting control groupmonitor; and repeatedly selecting the subsequent backup lighting controlgroup monitor comprises selecting each subsequently identified lightingsystem element as the next subsequent backup lighting control groupmonitor.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein: establishing thecommissioning network connection with each of the other lighting systemelements further comprises deriving a respective location of each of theother lighting system element based on a location of the mobile deviceduring the respective established commissioning network connection; anddetermining the location of the respective other lighting system elementis based on the respective derived location.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein the wireless commissioning network is a 2 gigahertz or higherradio band and the wireless lighting control network is a sub-gigahertzradio band.
 12. A first lighting system element comprising: a dual-bandwireless radio communication interface system configured for two waywireless communication for: any-to-many communication, over a wirelesslighting control network communication band, of operations information,over the lighting control network communication band; and point-to-pointcommunication, over a wireless commissioning network communication band,of information other than the operations information, concurrently withat least some communications over the lighting control networkcommunication band; a processor; a memory accessible to the processor;and programming in the memory which configures the processor to:establish a commissioning connection with a mobile device; receive alighting control group network table listing an entry for each of aplurality of other lighting system elements and the first lightningsystem element as members of a lighting control group; after receivingthe lighting control group network table, terminate the commissioningconnection between the first lighting system element and the mobiledevice; select a lighting control group monitor based on a location ofthe lighting control group monitor relative to the other lighting systemelements that are members of the lighting control group; store thelighting control group network table in the memory of the first lightingsystem element; and send the lighting control group network table toeach lighting system element of the lighting control group.
 13. Thefirst lighting system element of claim 12, wherein the programming inthe memory further configures the processor to: for each of theplurality of other lighting system elements, determine a location of therespective other lighting system elements; identify, based on thedetermined locations, one lighting system element as being mostcentrally located relative to all of the determined locations; andselect the one identified lighting system element as the lightingcontrol group monitor.
 14. The first lighting system element of claim13, wherein the programming in the memory configures the processor todetermine each respective location by obtaining the respective location,each respective location derived from a respective location of themobile device during an established commissioning connection with therespective other lighting system element.
 15. The first lighting systemelement of claim 13, wherein the programming in the memory furtherconfigures the processor to: identifying, based on the determinedlocations, another lighting system element of the plurality of otherlighting system elements as being a next most centrally located lightingsystem element relative to all of the determined locations; andselecting the another identified lighting system element as a backuplighting control group monitor.
 16. The first lighting system element ofclaim 15, wherein the programming in the memory configures the processorto: repeatedly, for the remaining plurality of other lighting systemelements, identify a subsequent lighting system element of the pluralityof other lighting system elements as being the next most centrallylocated relative to all of the determined locations such that theplurality of other lighting system elements is ordered from the nextmost centrally located to least centrally located; and select, based onthe order, each of the remaining plurality of other lighting systemelements as a correspondingly further subsequent backup lighting controlgroup monitor.
 17. The first lighting system element of claim 12,wherein the programming in the memory further configures the processorto modify, upon selection of the lighting control group monitor, thelighting control group network table such that the entry for thelighting control group monitor is a first entry in the lighting controlgroup network table.
 18. The first lighting system element of claim 12,wherein the programming in the memory further configures the processorto: after terminating the established commissioning connection betweenthe first lighting system element and the mobile device via thecommissioning communication band, continue to communicate via thecommissioning communication band with the mobile device.
 19. Anon-transitory computer readable medium comprising a memory embodyingprogramming instructions, wherein execution of the programminginstructions by a processor configures the processor to performfunctions, including functions to: establish a commissioning connectionwith each of a plurality of lighting system elements; build a lightingcontrol group network table listing an entry for each of the lightingsystem elements as members of a lighting control group, the lightingcontrol group network table including an entry for each of the pluralityof lighting system elements; based on communication with each lightingsystem element via an established commissioning connection, select oneof the lighting system elements as a lighting control group monitorbased on relative locations of the lighting system elements; and sendthe lighting control group network table to the lighting control groupmonitor to establish the lighting control group.
 20. A methodcomprising: receiving from each of a plurality of lighting systemelements, an advertisement packet; building a lighting control groupnetwork table listing an entry for each of the lighting system elementsas a member of a lighting control group; selecting one of the lightingsystem elements as a lighting control group monitor based on a locationrelative locations of the lighting system elements; and sending thelighting control group network table to the lighting control groupmonitor to establish the lighting control group.